THE DRIVE: Trump at 100; UN talks N. Korea; no government shutdown

Friday

Apr 28, 2017 at 5:01 PMApr 28, 2017 at 5:25 PM

The president's Twitter account is cooling off – and losing its impact; US pushes for more sanctions; a temporary spending bill will keep the federal government open through next week; and more headlines for your drive home Friday, April 28, 2017.

The Associated Press

TRUMP'S TWEETS LOSING THEIR FIRE

They are the 140-character bursts that helped define the first 100 days of the Trump presidency.

But Donald Trump’s tweets seem to be losing some of their impact.

The president’s traction on his medium of choice has slipped as his tone and button-pushing tendencies have cooled. The number of people engaging with him on Twitter — through likes, retweets, quotes and replies — has gradually declined, according to an Associated Press analysis of his feed and the users who read, react and propel his words throughout the Twittersphere.

The analysis, conducted in partnership with the media analytics nonprofit Cortico , found other clear trends:

Men are more likely than women to retweet Trump. Left-leaning users are more likely than right-leaning ones to reply — often with commentary. Volleys with exclamation points or capital letters get more favorites and retweets. Tweets mentioning “Russia” or “fake news” spark far more interaction than those that don’t.

For more on Trump's first 100 days, click here.

US CALLS FOR NEW SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA

The United States called for new sanctions on North Korea Friday and threatened to punish international companies doing banned business with the pariah nation's nuclear and missile programs. Doing nothing could be "catastrophic," top diplomat Rex Tillerson told a special U.N. Security Council session he chaired.

Amid council members' warning about the potential for conflict, Tillerson urged tougher action from China, North Korea's main trading partner. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi countered that a solution doesn't lie with Beijing and suggested resuming a long-stalled dialogue with Pyongyang.

North Korea may already be able to strike its U.S.-allied neighbors with a nuclear-tipped missile. It could develop the capability to target the U.S. mainland by the end of President Donald Trump's first term.

CONGRESS SETTLES FOR STOPGAP SPENDING BILL

Congress took the easy way out to keep the government open on the eve of Donald Trump's 100th day in office, passing a weeklong stop-gap spending bill Friday that amounted to more of a defeat for the president than a victory.

Lawmakers cleared the measure easily with just hours to spare before the shutdown deadline at midnight. But with Trump marking his presidency's milestone Saturday, he did not wring any major legislation out of Congress, despite a renewed White House push to revive the House GOP's health care bill in time for a vote that could give him bragging rights.

House leaders are still short of votes for the revised health bill, though they could bring it to the floor next week if they find the support they need. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the plan was to pass the bill "as soon as possible."

WILD OPENING ROUND COULD YIELD MORE SURPRISES ON DAY 2 OF NFL DRAFT

Defense was supposed to dominate in the first round of the NFL draft. It did, eventually. It just took a while.

After the Browns took Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett with the No. 1 overall pick Thursday night, eight of the next 11 picks were offensive players in a surprising opening day. Overall, 19 of the 32 players were from the defense, which was closer to projections. But trading up to get a targeted player dominated the first round, leaving plenty of talent for Friday night.